Wagon-tongue support.



S. G. HOPKINS.

WAGON TONGUE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 7. I914.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

SAMUEL e. HOPKINS, or Kevan DE canon, MARYLAND.

WAGON-TONGUE surron'r.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

Application filed March 7, 1914. I Serial No. 823,215.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL Gr. HOPKINs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Havre de Grace, in the county of Harford and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVagon-Tongue Supports; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in wagon tongue supports and has for its principal object to provide a means of supporting the tongue of a wagon when not in use.

Another object of this invention relates to a pair of legs which is pivotally fastened to the underside of a wagon tongue, which can readily be drawn together and held in parallel relation to the wagon tongue.

A further object of this invention is to provide a means for the self-opening of the legs to a predetermined angle.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts which will be fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a wagon showing the tongue supporter applied thereto, Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of one end of the wagon tongue showing the support in its folded position, Fig. 3 is a view illustrating in detail the pivotal joint, Fig. A is a side View in elevation of part of the tongue showing the metal strip and sleeve.

Referringnow to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1 designates as an entirety a wagon of the usual construction, having the tongue 2. At a short distance from the outer end of the tongue 2 is located the tongue support which shall hereinafter be designated generally by the numeral 3.

The support and 5, which shaft 2 by means of an eye-bolt A.

3 comprises a pair of legs L are pivotally connected to This eye-bolt 4 extends vertically through an aperture in the tongue, and is held firmly in position by the nut 5'. A bolt or pin 7 hav ing suitable heads 8 formed at its terminals, is provided and is arranged to extend through the eye 6 of the bolt A. Each of the legs is provided with a suitable aperture which is arranged to receive the pin or bolt 1 of parts without departing '7, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. The heads 8-are preferably spaced from each other to permit the legs to move laterally when said legs are in their folded position. At the upper terminals of the legs 4: and 5 are formed the notches 12 to allow the legs to form a snug joint around the eye 6 when the same are in an open position. A band 13 made of metal or other suitable material is suitably secured near the upper terminals of the legs A and 5, and said band acts in con unction with the eye 6 and bolt 7 in holding the legs in proper relation with each other and with the tongue 2. A spiral spring 1a is provided and is arranged so that its terminals seat within the recesses 18, and is adapted to yieldably hold the free ends of the legs in spaced relation.

Secured to the underside of the tongue 2 is the strip 15 which is held in the desired position by means of the screws or other fastening means as at 16. A sleeve 17 is slidable on the strip 15 and is arranged to engage the legs 4: and 5 and hold the same in parallel relation to the tongue 2.

From the foregoing are obvious the various functions of this device.

Fig. 1 shows the arms held in folded position by means of the sleeve 17 By sliding said sleeve longitudinally along the legs to a point which releases said legs, the spring will force their lower ends apart and hold the same in spaced relation. By slightly 1i ting one end of the tongue 2, the legs may be placed in the position desired to support said tongue. By compressing the lower ends of the legs l and 5, which are suitably held together at the other end by the band 13, the upper terminals of said legs are slid along the pin 7 until both legs are brought into parallel relation with each other.

Having thus described and shown the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be understood that minor changes may be made in the construction and arrangement from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

The combination with a wagon tongue having an aperture formed intermediate its ends, a strip secured to said tongue, and a sleeve slidable on the strip on the under side of the tongue, of a support comprising a pair of legs suitably secured together near their upper terminals, a bolt extending transversely throughthe legs near their upper ends, an eye-bolt arranged to extend through the aperture in the wagon tongue, the bolt through the legs being arranged to extend through the eye of the eye-bolt, each of the legs beingreces sed near its pivot point and a spring entering the recesses, said spring being of the compression type and designed to normally force the legs open, the legs being arranged to be swung upwardly on their pivots and together to S op 16s of this patent may be obtained for five cents e'aoh,j by addressing the enable the sleeve carried by the Wagon tongue to be slipped over the free terminals SAMUEL e. HOPKINS.

Witnesses:

J. HERMAN SPENCER, NOBLE H. HOPKINS.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

